KURIAN Vs. REGISTRAR

JUDGEMENT

(1.) The construction of sub-s.(5) of S.28 of the Kerala Cooperative Societies Act, 1969 (for brevity the Act) is in issue in this writ petition filed by a member of the managing committee of the Thiruvalla East Cooperative Bank Ltd., the third respondent (hereinafter referred to as the society), a cooperative society registered under the Act. The sub-section reads:

(2.) There was a meeting of the managing committee fixed for February 24,1993, at which a visiting team of inspecting officials from the Reserve Bank of India were also present for discussion. Nine members of the. managing committee including the petitioner, one Thomas Mathew and one Mathews P. Abraham were present. The , meeting started with the usual silent prayer after which notice of the meeting was recorded. The President welcomed the Reserve Bank team, after which there was a discussion with the members of the team in which all the members of the committee participated. The team then left, and when the meeting was sought to be continued for consideration of the items in the agenda, Thomas Mathew raised objection to its continuance stating that though himself, the petitioner and Mathews P. Abraham had participated in the discussion with the Reserve Bank team, which was item No. 1 in the agenda, they had not signed their attendance and therefore only six members could be deemed to be present, who could not constitute the necessary quorum for a meeting. The President gave a detailed ruling overruling the objection, whereupon Thomas Mathew expressed his disagreement with it and left the meeting, followed by the petitioner and Mathews P. Abraham. The meeting continued with the other six members in accordance with the Presidents ruling. A copy of the minutes of the meeting is Ext. P2. The petitioner and his compeers moved the Joint Registrar under R.176 of the Kerala Cooperative Societies Rules to rescind the resolutions passed at the meeting on the ground of illegality for want of quorum. While that was pending, the Registrar of Cooperative Societies, the first respondent gave a ruling Ext. P4 that the quorum for a meeting of the managing committee of the society was only six. Petitioner then filed this writ petition challenging Ext. P4 and seeking a direction to the Joint Registrar to rescind the resolutions contained in Ext. P2.

(3.) The petitioners case is based on sub-s.(5) of S.28. It was clarified before me that if the said provision required only a quorum of six, petitioner has no alternate contention based on bye law 34 having regard to the decision in Jinadevan v. State, 1993 (2) KLJ 70 .